Goffman Paper
The Struggle

Everyone once had a certain job in their lives at which they never had experience in that would show their perfection of an idea great customer service. Although, we may not like the job, but why? Because we are not used to everyday social interaction with new people, some of them you would have to end up remembering their names and use it each time they visit your work place. My job was a teller at bank of America here the pay was good but your social interaction, friendliness and manner with customers has to be the best. After all, outside work I’m not good at interacting, nor do I have the best manners and neither am I a friendly team player. There have been several times working there and I got involved with different personal experiences on social interaction in which have links towards what Goffman has analyzed in his framework concepts. I have been caught up acting different towards customers (audience) and my co-workers at work unlike outside of work. In regards, I would like to give several examples of these personal interactions. Day by day we get harsh impatient customers for instance, there was a time a customer who had a big cash difference in his account on some transactions that he didn’t permit. My role was to help him discover and claim back the differences. Unfortunately I was a new hire and I lack knowledge of viewing his account and helping him, he got angry and starting yelling at me. But it’s my responsibility as an “employee” to stay calm by not yelling back or acting disrespectful. I could say that; if not for my job that’s at stake, I would have approached him in a different way by either yelling back at him or saying something that’s unnecessary. My job makes me play a different role at work than which I portray outside of work. Also, the way I act or react can affect not just me but also my job and team members because we all work together, so I always have to maintain a good attitude towards customers (audience). At bank of America we were expected to sincerely greet our customers at the beginning and end of their visit. Sometimes I know am having a bad day, when a customer ask how I’m doing, I simply say “Fine, Yourself?” When my supervisor or managers are not around, I’m usually quite and not greeting the customers, but when I notice my supervisor around, my role and performance change because I’m trying to impress and show a different setting to her. We were also expected to dress professionally, a long sleeve button up shirt; tie and black shoes were compulsory. The fact that am never used to greeting people on a regular basis nor used to dressing like that plays a different role about the true me. There was a time I was dressed up in a suit and tie at a gas station an elderly man walked up to me and he admired my professional, he tried guessing my occupation by mention higher classified job and he also thought I was sort of rich.
As a teller, I had to be aware of my personal posture, speech pattern, facial expression and body gesture. Even when we are tired we are required to stand upright and not leaning on the desk or showing any sign of weakness on our facial and body language. The type of manner I convey at work compared to outside of work was significantly
Another example would be about having a set manner at work unlike outside work, for instance when I offended a big business customer; during our interaction, he gave me a large some of money to deposit in one of his account, I miscounted and deposited a lower amount than which he gave me. But I kept insisting it was the right amount he gave me in which I have deposited. He asked me to call my supervisor, and in cases like this we are required to recount my whole cash drawer and check all my transactions from the whole day and try to find the business owner difference somewhere in my transactions.
After cross checking, we ended up finding the customers’ difference, although the only reason that mistake happened was because he forgot to write the amount on his deposit slip, so that was a confusion on his part. At bank of America, “customers comes first” and am required apologizing for my mistake and miscount regardless of the situation. So I did apologize and sent out an apology card to the customers address. That interaction as a whole was much of a role difference and a big expectation than how I am outside of work. I would have not apologized nor have sent out a card if not for my job. My action sets a stage for not just me, co-workers but the company as a whole. The way I act and handle my customers is the same way my co-workers would.
One last social interaction situation that I personally experienced while working there was when I had to fake being nice to a regular customer that everyone knew was very difficult to handle. We have been told that whenever the customer comes in, we need to act very nice and polite with her. Although I’m not very nice with reckless customers, that day she came in and forgot her order in which she normally bring on breakdowns of how she wants her change back. But she was angry and expected me to know since she comes in on a regular basis. I felt sorry for myself because I knew the interaction wouldn’t go well. I handled the situation and acted as nice as I can for I knew it was her fault for not bringing her change order in with her.
Essentially, I have outlined some brief cases of my personal social interactions most of which Goffman would analyze my performance as a theatrical presentation.
In Goffmans famous concepts from his influential book Social Theory: Roots and Branches, “he begins with an intriguing discussion whether the individual is taken in by her role performance, embracing it with sincerity” (248). Goffmans conceptual analysis of the customers being the audience and employees as actors at bank of America is like a front stage setting, that have been embraced by every employee (actor) including myself had a teller role to play by showing our sincerity to customers (audience) even though we don’t mean it. In scenic aspect of front, I think of my bank co-workers all having the same particular front performance that is expressive equipment and we are the only ones who could thoroughly identify ourselves with it.
Another analysis from Goffmans concept, he stated, “ fronts tend to be selected, not created” (253). As an employee I didn’t create any sort of interaction but my job has selected a role of performance, costume, appearance, and script, which we have to act towards our customers who are the audience. Although these front are not usual to us outside of work called the back stage but we had to choose a suitable front presented by my company. This script from the book by Kivisto, Goffman’s Dramaturgical Sociology: Personal Sales and Service in a Commodified World which Goffman claims to be “vital to interpersonal interaction, we make up more scripts as we go along in our everyday life and some elements of conversations are well scripted” (332). For instance, my response to the customer who ask how my day was going but I was able to element a quick script by saying “Fine” all for the sake of controlling and limiting any certain autonomy.
In terms of costume, Goffman stated, “what people are wearing is the quickest way to form an impression of them and their social status” (334). The idea fits my previous example of interaction I had with the man at the gas station that had a high expectation of my professional and social status. I feel that if not for my professional look, he wouldn’t have such high expectations.
Finally on Impression management, “combined with scripts, props, and costumes, they allow teams a great deal of control over impressions of reality we convey to the audience” (338). I define a team as group of people composed to work together, but impression management plays a huge conflicting role on a team and individual performance. The composed interaction I had with the loud and mean customer shows the impression I played as a team member. A team can have different individuals and members, but all have a front and script that we play by so our impressions would not be affected.
In conclusion Goffmans dramaturgical sociology as a framework reveled his concept of how the society social realities are performed events are linked to components of theater. Humans adapt roles and front at which we want to present or convince audience to show a sign of perfection as professionals.

References
Goffman, Erving. 2003. “Performances.” Pp. 248-253 in Social Theory: Roots and Branches. edited by P. Kivisto. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing Company.
Kivsito, Peter and Pittman Dan. 2011. “Goffman’s Dramaturgical Sociology: Personal Sales and Service in a Commodified World.” Pp. 327-346 in Illuminating Social Life, 4th ed. Los Angeles, CA: Pine Forge Press.